209 a. C. – 1206
Steppe empires
- Xiongnu
- Xianbei
- Rouran
- Göktürks
- Uyghurs
- Khitan
Shifting confederations of nomadic horse peoples with Turkic, Mongolic and other languages.
Asia orientalCapital: Ulán Bator
Mongolia
Mongolia es un país extenso y poco poblado de estepa, montañas y el desierto de Gobi, entre Rusia y China. Los pastores nómadas fundaron aquí varios imperios de las estepas; en el siglo XIII Gengis Kan levantó desde aquí el mayor imperio terrestre contiguo de la historia. Tras el dominio manchú y siete décadas como satélite soviético, es una democracia desde 1990.
- Idiomas
- Mongolian (official; written in Cyrillic script and in the traditional vertical script), Kazakh, Tuvan
- Religiones y cosmovisiones
- Tibetan Buddhism, Shamanism and veneration of the 'eternal blue sky', Sunni Islam (Kazakhs), Non-religious population
Cronología histórica
209 a. C. – 93
Xiongnu empire
A confederation of steppe peoples controls the area and forces the Chinese Han empire into treaties and tribute.
552 – 840
Turkic and Uyghur khaganates
Turkic-speaking empires succeed one another; the Orkhon Valley holds the oldest inscriptions in a Turkic language.
1206
Genghis Khan founds the Mongol Empire
Temüjin is proclaimed ruler of all Mongols by the tribal leaders.
1235 – 1260
Karakorum
Ögedei builds a capital in the Orkhon Valley where envoys and merchants from all over Eurasia meet.
1586
Erdene Zuu monastery
Tibetan Buddhism becomes the dominant religion; the first great monastery rises beside the ruins of Karakorum.
1691 – 1911
Under the Qing dynasty
The Mongol princes recognise the Manchu emperor; the area remains part of the Qing empire until 1911.
1924 – 1990
Mongolian People's Republic
With Soviet support a communist state emerges; in the 1930s monasteries are destroyed and thousands of monks killed.
1990
Democratic revolution
Peaceful demonstrations lead to a multi-party system and, in 1992, a new constitution.
Contexto histórico
The steppe knew no fixed fields or towns; power rested on herds, horsemen and personal loyalty to a leader. Genghis Khan broke through the old tribal ties by organising his army in units of ten, a hundred and a thousand and imposing a law, the yasa.
The empire protected merchants and envoys and so linked China, Persia and Europe, but the conquests cost millions of people their lives. After its break-up Mongolia remained a region of rival princes until the Qing dynasty absorbed it.
Pueblos y patrimonio cultural a través del tiempo
1206
Mongol era to the present
- Khalkha Mongols
- Oirat Mongols
- Buryats
- Kazakhs
- Tuvans
The Khalkha form the large majority; in the west lives a Kazakh minority that keeps up hunting with eagles. About a quarter of the population still lives as nomadic herders.
Religión, cosmovisión y filosofía
The oldest religion is a shamanism centred on Tenger, the sky, and the spirits of mountains and water; cairns (ovoo) on passes are a reminder of it. At their court the Mongol khans admitted Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and Taoists and had them debate with one another.
In the sixteenth century Altan Khan chose Tibetan Buddhism and gave the Tibetan spiritual leader the title 'Dalai Lama'. Around 1900 a large share of the men were monks; the purges of the 1930s destroyed almost all the monasteries.
Movimientos artísticos
🎨 Deer stones and rock artc. 1200–700 BCE
Standing stones with stylised 'flying' deer mark graves and places of sacrifice in the northern steppe.
🎨 Buddhist art of Zanabazarseventeenth century
Mongolia's first spiritual leader was also a sculptor; his gilded bronze Tara figures are counted among the high points of Asian art.
🎨 Mongol zuragnineteenth–twentieth century
Flat, narrative style of painting in mineral colours; B. Sharav's 'One Day in Mongolia' shows hundreds of scenes from daily life.
Tradiciones y costumbres
NaadamDeportes y juegos11–13 July
Summer festival with the 'three manly games': wrestling, archery and horse racing over tens of kilometres.
Tsagaan SarFiestaJanuary–February
The lunar new year begins with visits to elders, greeting rituals and mountains of steamed dumplings.
KhöömiiMúsica y danza
Throat singing in which one singer sounds a fundamental and whistling overtones at the same time.
The gerArtesanía
Round felt tent on a folding wooden frame, set up in an hour; the door always faces south.
Gastronomía e historia culinaria
The cuisine follows the life of herders: 'white food' from milk in summer and 'red food' from meat in winter. Sheep, goat, cattle, horse and camel supply almost everything; vegetables long played a minor role.
Historia gastronómica
Nomadic food follows the seasons. In summer the animals give milk, which is turned into yoghurt, dried curd (aaruul), butter and airag; in winter people eat meat that can be kept in the cold, and dried meat (borts) is taken along on journeys.
Tea arrived through trade with China and became so important that pressed tea bricks served as a means of payment. Flour, rice and vegetables only gained a fixed place in the twentieth century, partly through the agricultural projects of the Soviet era.
- Nomadic herding with five kinds of livestock
- Chinese dough and steaming techniques
- Tibetan tea with butter and salt
- Russian cooking since the twentieth century
BuuzPlato principal
Steamed dumplings with minced mutton or beef.
Origen: Related to the Chinese baozi; a fixed part of Tsagaan Sar.
KhorkhogPlato principal
Mutton cooked with hot river stones in a sealed milk churn.
Origen: Nomadic preparation in the open air.
AiragBebida
Mildly alcoholic fermented mare's milk.
Origen: Already described by the traveller William of Rubruck in 1253.
Süütei tsaiBebida
Milk tea with salt, sometimes with butter or millet.
Origen: Everyday drink; the tea came from China as pressed bricks.
Maravillas y patrimonio
Aún no hay maravillas en la base de datos.
Figuras históricas
- Gengis Kan1162 – 1227
Acontecimientos
- Fundación del Imperio mongol1206 · Política y formación de Estados
Conflictos y fósiles
Fuentes: Mongolia — Encyclopaedia Britannica · UNESCO World Heritage: Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape